The bishop and his knight
by whitehiganbana
Summary: A gift to ScarletCougar and somehow a companion fic to Hard secrets between Malik and Altair. The story of the black  bishop and the white knight.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: Assassin's Creed is the property of Ubisoft. Hard Secret of Malik and Altair is a fanfiction written by ScarletCougar. I own nothing.

A/n: Yep, another gift for Scarlet! I just love her fic so much I want to write another one. This one is a flashback of Altair and Malik when they are young. I recommended everyone to read her fic, it is the most amazing AC fic I had ever read. This story took place in her fic universe so you need to read it first to understand it fully.

WARNING!: English is my third language, any mistake please take them lightly as I tried my best to correct them. You can leave a comment on any mistake I made so I can correct them.

'It is tomorrow', Malik mused alone with his half finished and fume of sandalwood incense, 'Why can't time go slower than this?' At the last thought, a cracked sound erupted through the silent room. Malik looked down at his broken quill and sigh. Opened the drawer, he picked up a new clean quill but his eyes glided to the white knight and black bishop beside the pile of eagle feathers.

The antique piece always reminded him of Altair. The knight in white, who was feared through the Holy land the angel of death. However, for the king, Al Mualim, he was merely a sacrifice, a soldier meant to die in the battle field just for his victory.

Picking up the piece, Malik remembered the day he met Altair. That young scruffy little boy who had empty eyes the day he arrived at Masyaf.

-Assassin's Creed-

"_This year we have a special member joining our order!" Al Mualim finally announced to his assassins in the courtyard. Coming out of the door of the fortress was a little boy in dirty rags. His skin was fair and his hair was light brown. The boy finally lifted his head from the ground and looked at the crowd below. Some flinched when they saw his eyes. They are gold, eyes of the eagles. Malik who was at the front line of the group of novice studied the boy carefully. The boy couldn't be older than him for sure for he's too small. He was also so thin that Malik thought that a light breeze will blew him away. _

"_His name is Altair Ibn-la-Ahad and will be joining this year novice group.", a flight eagle and son of none, Malik though with a surprised. Al Mualim then continued about the tenants, rules and regulation for the novice then dismissed the assassins but not before he walked to Faruq. "Faruq, may I speak with you for a second?"_

_Malik still looked at Altair who didn't move from the spot he was standing. So still it scared him. Decided to do a leap of faith, Malik walked up beside him and tap him on the shoulder. Altair slowly turn his head slowly to Malik. That is the first time Malik saw Altair's eyes so closely. IT was empty, as if life is missing from his eyes. Malik greeted him with a sheepish grin and quickly introduced himself. "So you are Altair right? I never see you in Masyaf before. Where do you come from?"_

_Altair continued to stay silent and move his gazed back to the courtyard. Malik looked at the boy dumbfounded. "Hey, I didn't know that you are a mute. Don't worry,Faruq know some mute assassins and they are rank 6 already you – "_

"_Just because I didn't like talking doesn't mean you have to assume that I am a mute" well that took Malik off guard. The boy voice was childish yet rough by experience that trapped in his small body. Faruq walked behind them and chimed happily._

"_Well, it's good that you two know each other, Altair is coming to live with us."_

_And every thing started from that day, the rival between the King of sword and the Eagle of Masyaf. They are competitors at the day and close friends by night. Although room fight weren't rare in the Al-sayf as Altair and Malik often found them selves in a messy room full of mess after some verbal and manly fist exchanged. In the end, Faruq an earful lecture about teamwork and respect. Rivalry and conflict never really drove them apart. Altair and Malik stayed closed to each other until one day, Altair started to act strangely. He never answered Malik with full attention and often insulted Malik of his rank. He stopped meeting Malik at their usual place. He even went as far as picking a fight on Faruq. Altair started to drove everyone around him away. But their bond finally broke on that fateful day, the day where they went to the Solomon temple_

-Assassin's Creed-

The flicker of the candles brought Malik back to the present. Only if he knew that Altair avoided him for his own good, only if he told Malik of the truth, only if Malik could help him. His head is filled with ifs and what could happen. Malik set down the knight beside the bishop on the counter only to remember another hidden promise.

-Assassin's Creed-

"_Checkmate!"_

"_What! Again please!"_

_Altair just lost another game to Malik who just out ruled him with his favourite piece, the black bishop. It was 10 in the evening and the novices were enjoying their late chess game in their room with a candle illuminating the room. _

"_You may win me Altair, if you start to read some books and listen to Faruq's lectures." Malik gave Altair a grin of a cat that just ate a flock of canaries. Which Altair sigh and gave a disapproving look at Malik._

"_You know that's there no way I would sit down and read a paper full of black ink. How can you stand all of that anyway? And Faruq lecture is like an old lady down the town moaning!" Malik quickly clasped his hand on Altair's mouth._

"_My brother is still in the study room writing report." Malik warned._

"_It's not fair."_

"_What?"_

"_It's not fair that the king which can move only one square at a time got to be the one that decided the fate of the game. You know I like the knight. It is just so sad that the even if the knight was beaten, the game must go one" Just like us, Altair thought silently. Malik looked sadly at white knight at the edge of the board. He then came up with a different idea._

"_Then let's change the rule of the game," Malik pushed the white knight into Altair's hand, "You will not lose to me when the knight is not out of the board. And you can only beat me when my bishop is beaten. The king plays on role in our game. How's that?"_

_Altair looked at the black bishop that stands alone on the board. It was Malik's triumph piece that always ended their game, the unbeatable black bishop. With a smile he nodded. "I will make sure to beat you someday"_

"_Then I will wait for the day the knight rises beside the bishop."_

-Assassin's Creed-(after chapter 204)

_Altaïr leaned over the counter a little, "Then… then… walk among the people. Seek out those who serve the ones I slew. Learn what you can. You call yourself perceptive. Malik, perhaps you will see something I could not."_

Malik looked back at the counter again for the last time, feeling something missing from his gear. He couldn't think properly knowing that Altair is out there chasing Robert with injuries from his encounter with the templar. He walked to the shelf, checked if he missed any thing or forgot to stock his supplies. A little nudge of his elbow to the counter cause the white knight to roll off and fall on the floor. Malik shuddered, a bad omen. He pushed those thought off. Altair will never fall. He promised to be careful. He promised. Picking up the white knight, Malik put it in his little supply bag. He felt complete again. It was as if a part of Altair is with him, even thought he is not there.

"So this is why you cling on to my black bishop right Altair, to at least have a little piece of me."

With Altair's little remedy with him, Malik felt a little confident than before and ready to search for the truth along with Altair.

"After this Altair, I will make sure that the knight will rise beside the bishop."

The End (?)

A/n: I have little idea here and there. I might wait for the future chapter of Scarlet's fic first.


	2. Tales of the Little Wings

A/n: Hi y'all! After a long disappearance, I'm back! I just looked back to Scarlet's fanfic again and been constantly reminded of her very perfect Altmal story. And that is how I come up again with another chapter! Yay! I saw a lot of baby eagle chicks art and I just have to write a little fic about them :D.

Disclaimer: If I own Assassin's Creed, I would not let a writer called Oliver Bowden touch it. You all know why.

ScarletCougar owned Naheem, and this is a companion fic to her awesome story. It will helped a lot if you read it first! She was my inspiration and so does many fanart.

Warining: Unbeta so GRAMMAR ALEART! And English is not my first language :D

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**Tales of the Little Wings**

Malik was very pissed. Actually, scratched that, he was beyond pissed. It didn't helped that he was, as usual, harassed endlessly by the beggars who think that he will have a spare coins for them when he himself was constantly robbed by either thugs or those guards who loved to have fun on the misery of others. His daily errand in market area was a total chaos. And when he came back, the first sight he saw was his dork of a "novice" called Altair and his actual _novice_, Naheem, completely sabotage his well-organized linen bandage supply as it scattered all around the bureau with….wait a minute…feathers?

Malik looked at the victim in Altair's hands; it was an eagle, probably the one nest by the City bell from what he can remember. Its wings were broken from the look of weird angle of the joints which was mended badly with the skills of his novice.

"The butcher threw a rock at it as it was about to steal a piece of meat." Naheem said quickly before Malik even asked, as if it was an instinct. Malik still keep his face cool and calm. He bended down and help the novice readjusted the bandage as Altair reset the eagle's bone. It went well, that was before Malik saw bundle of sticks and leaves that happen to be a bird's nest with three little chicks on his counter before he screamed the novices' names.

Malik's long lecture on bringing stray to his peaceful bureau was longer than he expected. At least for now, he let the eagle staying on the makeshift perch with chains so that it could not hurt itself. Altair explained that the eagle was the mother of the little chicks and that they would probably die with their mother unable to hunt.

The mother can heal on its own with some ointment and care. Enter another problem Malik doesn't want to face, the three little chicks that Altair brought down from the city bell. They were clearly needed to be fed regularly and need to be warmed. That should not be Malik's job or even his responsibility, he wasn't the one that brought it down from the tower but clearly his novice has no knowledge of taking care of a bird (Altair and pigeons in Masyaf never mixed, he was an eagle).

So they end up taking turns, Altair at night, Naheem in the morning and Malik at evening where he did not have much work to do. On the day where Altair has some mission to do, he will stay with the chicks all night with their mother glazing with her watchful eyes. He noticed that the eagles' eyes were, in fact, golden, just like Altair. For a moment, Malik couldn't help but thinking that the three little chicks are himself, Altair and Kadar. He secretly named each one of them just like that. There will be one which was the smallest who always shy of touch but yet very cheerful. The shy one will always hide behind the dark brown one who always competes with the light brown one for food on their meal time. Their mother also reminded him of his forever, kind brother, as her gazes were full of fondness, just like him.

Sometimes when he was working on the maps, the little chicks will climb out of the nest and walk around the counter. The _Kadar_ chick will sit beside the incense and just stare at him, as if it is studying his map, always curious. The _Malik_ chick will constantly trotting around and chipped at the map with the same curious eyes. The _Altair_ chick, however, would just go wondering by himself. There was one time where he dipped himself in ink and walked across the map Malik just began to work. Instead of being angry, Malik laughed at innocent looking thing and picked it up to wash off the ink. Just like the real Altair, the chick "Altair", hate water. Se he ended up using damp towel instead.

"It's very funny. Altair used to be so full of life and innocent like you too." He said as he picked _Altair_ up and looked at its golden eyes. "If only I could see that Altair one more time."

Days gone by the mother wings healed. It was time to send the eagle family back to where it belongs. Malik felt a little sad when he set the eagle free. But again, eagles were never meant for cages. They were meant to fly free. Of course, there will be time when their wings are broken and when they need a land for a long time. They just need to know that, they will always have a place to stay for a while. Just like another eagle called "The White Eagle of Masyaf" who came to him, broken, so that he could fix it up and set it free.

Later that day, Malik was again about to be harassed by a group of beggars. That was until a screech sound came from above and scratched their faces with fury and fly away with all her grace. It was a reminder to all that she will always watch from above.

And just like the mother eagle helped him with the beggars, so does the White Eagles of Masyaf as he rescued him from the guards.

"A little bird told me that you are in trouble," Altair pointed to the mother eagle which stilled circled in the sky, watching.

"Well, took you long enough. And I thought that you only help women from guards"

Because he was not robbed, Malik had extra money to buy more meat for making dinner just for their little family.

_And the eagles always come back to him…_

_TBC (?) Maybe hahaha_

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_ Reviews are very much appreciated ;)  
_


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